Bloomberg reports that as private space firms “like Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin step up rocket production and development and more nations race to the moon, mid-size manufacturers that provide their equipment and supplies are reaping the benefits.” Companies including “satellite builder MDA Ltd, heat-transfer manufacturer Graham Corp, and aluminum maker Constellium SE all saw share gains of two-thirds or more in 2023, driven in part by the billions of dollars in private and government funding for space exploration and the creation of large-scale satellite networks.”
Full Story (Bloomberg – Subscription Publication)
Tag: supply chain
Supply Chain and Labor Challenges Continue in High-Demand Commercial Market Forecast
Aviation Week reports, “Demand is surging across commercial aviation even as an imbalance persists between supply and demand, according to the Aviation Week Network 2025 Commercial Fleet & MRO Forecast presented at the Aero Engines Americas conference on Jan. 28. Hamstrung by supply chain and labor challenges, deliveries by major aircraft OEMs in the fourth quarter of 2024 were down 17% over 2023 and 20% over 2019. Overall, in 2024, deliveries in 2024 fell 10% on an annual basis.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
Airbus Seeing New Materials Shortages Emerge in Aerospace Supply Chain
Aviation Week reports that “Airbus is seeing new materials shortages emerge in the aerospace supply chain as other issues that have dominated in recent months begin to settle down.” Airbus Chief Operating Officer Alberto Gutierrez told ShowNews at the Paris Air Show that there are “new difficulties with raw materials, particularly aerospace steel.” According to Aviation Week, “steel is used in some aircraft parts that are exposed to particularly strong forces, such as the landing gear, and it is also used in castings and forgings.” Gutierrez said that the lead time for steel orders “used to be eight months – now it is 20 months.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
Aerospace Supply-Chain Troubles Force US Airlines to Back Off Fleet Growth
An article discussing the constant global supply chain crisis in the aerospace industry in FlightGlobal points out that the supply chain issues being experienced now were present even before the pandemic, as evidenced by engine makers such as CFM International struggling in the mid-to-late 2010s to keep up with engine demand from Boeing and Airbus as the two manufacturers ramped up narrowbody jet production.
Full Story (Flightglobal)
Aerospace Parts Suppliers Not Yet Able to Support Airbus, Boeing Needs
Reuters reports that The Boeing Company and Airbus both have planned increases in jet output in 2023, but a recent Morgan Stanley survey of the aerospace supply chain industry says that will not be easy. The supply chain sector “seeks to speed up its recovery from a pandemic-led slowdown as a travel boom spurs demand for jets, inflationary pressures and labor availability are impeding their progress and have dampened sentiment, the survey showed.” Labor and parts shortages have blunted Boeing and Airbus from realizing their goals for increased jet production rates, with worker shortages cited as being the “biggest constraint” for suppliers.
Full Story (Reuters)
Aerospace Supply Chain Seeing Long Climb Back to Health
FlightGlobal reports, “At first glance, the US commercial aerospace industry might seem to be enjoying a broad and rapid recovery from the lows seen at the height of the pandemic. But appearances can be deceiving. Yes, Boeing in 2022 managed to significantly ramp up aircraft deliveries, but many of those were jets from the airframer’s inventory – built months or years prior.” Boeing in 2022 “delivered 480 aircraft, up from 340 in 2021 thanks largely to a significant bump in 737 Max deliveries. The US manufacturer handed over 387 737s last year, up from 263 in 2021. Boeing also resumed 787 deliveries in August 2022 after a pause due to fuselage-quality issues that lasted most of 22 months. The company delivered only 31 of the widebodies last year, up from 14 in 2021. Those figures do indeed show improvement, but the US civil aerospace sector is actually recovering more slowly than deliveries suggest.”
Full Story (FlightGlobal – Subscription Publication)
General Says F-35 Supply Chain Too Risky for Future War
Defense News reports that the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter “will need a more resilient supply chain to ensure the military can keep it flying in a future, highly contested war, the Air Force officer in charge of the program said Monday.” Lt. Gen. Michael Schmidt, the program executive officer, said during a panel discussion at the Navy League’s Sea Air Space conference being held this week in National Harbor, Maryland, that the F-35 program was created with a “just in time” supply chain, which means that parts are designed to arrive when needed, with little stockpile of inventory. Schmidt said that sort of thinking works in the private sector, but in a future war, it could lead to a catastrophe. He added, “When you have that [just-in-time] mentality, a hiccup in the supply chain, whether it be a strike … or a quality issue, becomes your single point of failure. We need to look at, what does ‘right’ look like in the future, to give us more resilience in a combat environment.”
Full Story (Defense News)
AIAA Calls Upon U.S. Policymakers to Protect Mission-Critical Aerospace and Defense Workforce and Supply Chain
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: MICHELE MCDONALD
703.264.7542
[email protected]
20 March 2020 – Reston, Va. – The coronavirus pandemic is stalling the global economy, impairing businesses, and changing how we go about our daily lives. Its impact is multiplying, and the effects reach far beyond this year’s balance sheets.
Here in the United States, the aerospace and defense industry supports more than 2.5 million jobs and 17,000 suppliers from large manufacturers to small businesses that form the backbone of the supply chain. It represents more than $928 billion in economic output for the United States and more than $237 billion in wages. The industry has improved our quality of life by transforming transportation, medicine, defense, and security, among other things.
In times such as these, the aerospace and defense sector is essential to protect our national security and provide much needed logistics capability to bring critical supplies to areas of need. Its highly skilled workforce has made significant advances in areas such as autonomy, cybersecurity, air mobility, and space exploration. The aerospace and defense workforce is an essential driver of innovation for the U.S. economy, our national security, and expanding the utilization of space for future generations. We need the industry to survive the crisis and build our future.
The aerospace and defense industry is vital to the prominent position of the United States in global competitiveness, innovation, and technical leadership. The coronavirus pandemic presents a new challenge and our global leadership in this sector will falter if the industry is not protected during this time of crisis. The aerospace and defense contribution to the economy on the other side of the COVID-19 crisis will be crucial for restarting and building the economic engine to its pre-crisis momentum.
The industry is experiencing an economic downturn that’s worse than 9/11. Airlines are laying off thousands of workers and cutting flights. Maintenance, repair, and overhaul workers are also feeling the impacts. We’re in the initial stages of the COVID-19 crisis and can expect to see more jobs affected as the world responds to the pandemic.
We call on federal government officials and lawmakers to be mindful of and support the aerospace and defense industry during this challenging time.
About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 85 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit aiaa.org, or follow AIAA on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.
AIAA Statement on Passage of $484 Billion Coronavirus Relief Package
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Michele McDonald
703.264.7542
[email protected]
April 23, 2020 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) applauds the passage of the $484 billion Coronavirus Relief Package.
The relief package is a necessary step to support small businesses and hospitals during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The additional funding for the Paycheck Protection Program will greatly help many small businesses that are a vital component to the aerospace and defense industry supply chain. As the nation looks to the economic recovery, additional testing will be essential to ensure the safety of aerospace workers, their families, and the wider community.
We encourage federal government officials and lawmakers to continue to support the aerospace and defense industry through the duration of the pandemic and to ensure sector stability during the economic recovery phase. The aerospace and defense contribution to the economy on the other side of the COVID-19 crisis will be crucial for restarting and building the economic engine to its pre-crisis momentum.
The aerospace and defense industry is vital to the prominent position of the United States in global competitiveness, innovation, and technical leadership. The U.S. aerospace and defense industry supports more than 2.5 million jobs and 17,000 suppliers, representing more than $928 billion in economic output for the United States and more than $237 billion in wages. The industry has improved our quality of life by transforming transportation, medicine, defense, and security.
About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 85 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit aiaa.org, or follow AIAA on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.